The Seven Brothers

Once upon a time, there were seven brothers who were young and, unfortunately, not very bright. They had received little formal education and were often lacking in common sense. However, while their father was alive, he kept them busy working on the family land, and they were content with their lives.

When their father passed away, the seven brothers decided that with no one to answer to, they no longer needed to work every day. Instead, they set off to explore the surrounding countryside and enjoy their newfound freedom.

One morning, they wandered from village to village, happy in their liberty, and in the evening, they began to make their way back home.

As they walked along in the moonlight, they came across a village with a large well. The sight of the well intrigued them, and soon they were having fun by dropping stones into it and listening to the splashes echoing up from the depths.

After a while, the eldest brother said, “It’s getting late. We should head home now, but let me first make sure we’re all here.” He started counting each of his brothers, but forgot to count himself.

“Good heavens!” he suddenly exclaimed. “One of us is missing! He must have fallen into the well!”

In a panic, he rushed to the edge of the well, peered down, and saw his own reflection in the water. “Yes, he’s in the well!” he shouted. “Quickly, we must save him!”

The brothers, realizing they didn’t have a rope, stood around for a moment, unsure how to help. Then the eldest brother had an idea.

“I know!” he said with confidence. “I will cling to the edge of the well, and the next brother will climb down my back and hold on to my feet. Then the next one will climb down and grab his feet, and so on. If we all hold onto each other, we’ll form a human ladder and rescue our brother.”

With great effort, the brothers managed to form their human ladder, but the weight of so many of them was too much for the eldest brother at the top. With a startled cry, he lost his grip, and the entire chain of brothers tumbled into the well.

Luckily, the water was not deep, and once they all regained their footing, they started shouting in excitement. “I’ve saved our brother!” cried one.

“No, I saved him!” shouted another.

In the confusion, the noise grew louder, and soon the villagers gathered around the well. Ropes were fetched, and the drenched, bedraggled brothers were hoisted out of the well.

The village headman, shaking his head, asked, “What were you seven young men doing down in our well?”

“Seven?” the eldest brother exclaimed. “Then we must have rescued our poor brother who fell in!”

And so, the seven brothers, arm in arm, proudly made their way home, each convinced that he had played an important part in saving his “missing” brother.